Hussein call for Mideast meeting

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's President Saddam Hussein has called on Arab leaders to meet in the holy city of Mecca to discuss growing Israeli-Palestinian violence.

"We want to hold a quick meeting without wasting more time to discuss the issue of aggression on Palestinians, in particular," said Hussein in an address broadcast on national TV and radio.

"Let the meeting be held at the holy Kaaba or any other capital where the presence of all can be assured," he added.

The Kaaba, at the Namira Mosque in Mecca, is a large cubic stone structure covered with a black cloth that is Islam's most sacred site.

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Hussein's speech came on the third day of Eid al-Fitr, a three-day festival that began on Sunday and marks the end of the holy lunar month of Ramadan.

The Iraqi leader called it an emergency meeting in an emergency circumstance and it was seen as an effort to rally Arab support as the United States considers its next move in the war on terrorism.

Hussein's response to the September 11 attacks was to tell the U.S. it should "learn from the pain" of Muslims, particularly Iraqis and Palestinians.

Despite their grief, Americans should not wage a "new crusade" against "an Islamic country," but rather learn from the pain he said Iraqis and Palestinians have been suffering at the hands of the U.S. and Israel.

"Just as your beautiful skyscrapers were destroyed and caused your grief, beautiful buildings and precious homes crumbled over their owners in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq because of American weapons used by the Zionists," Hussein said in September in a letter addressed to the American people, citizens of the West and their governments.